The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-12-29
PlCKPOCKETS.
The Methods Pursued By These
Lightfngered Individuals.
An Inmate OF a Prison Cell
Loosens His Tongue.

A San Francisco Post reporter has
been interviewing an imprisoned pick
pocket. "What is your legitimate line
Of work, as you call it y asked the re-
porter The prisoner replied:
"Taking care of purses and such
thifss for people who don't know how
.tofakc care of them themselves. II
man studies his business he need never
get caught picking pockets. 1t is sim
pie and nice light work for gentlemen
who don't care about doing hard work.
You probably don't know it, but the
professional dipper studies his work just
the same as lawyer studies law. Take
the Eastern safe crackers, Randall,
Thomas and Heinz, who wcrc out here
a couple Of years ago. Why, they've
got their business down to a science.
They know just where to look for the
combination in u safe, aud with one bore
they break the tumbler and lock into
pieces. 1t is part of their busncs, to
know these things, and they never have
to pry the door of with crowbar.
That's not safe cracking, and fellows
who do bungling work ought to 60 to
prison.
"pcoplc think that pick rocket
rushcs up to man, dives his Ii d into
his pocket and grabs the purse. that's
not so. To do neat work, pickpockct
must have good stalls todo the 'cr ush, >
and he must bc able to tell what kind
OF man he has selected to rob. The
stalls arc helpers, aud do tho rough
work while the pickpocket is getting
the purse. When you work in crowd
there is not ono chance in q thousand
that you will get caught if the Stalls
understand their business. Now, when
worked the theaters or tho ferry land
ing l always had two good helpers. We
would so to the thcater aad wait until
the end Of the first act. OF course. We
never noticed each other, and when the
other gentlemen would 90 out to get
cloves we would 60 to. The stalls
then commenced their work, and
would stand back and study They
would size up men who looked as if they
had more money than they needed, and
wfiald brush up e.ose' to them. While
they were working in and out around
the bar | would be studying.
''Thc nervous man who il always on
guard against being robbed was the one
wanted. Now, the cautious fellow
who feels for his purse as soon as he had
been crowded, shows two things. First,
that he has got something worth steal
ing and then that he will go to pieces
and lose his head when jammed in a
crowd. When l selected my man !
would give the stalls the sign and we
would SO back to the show. When he
was leaving the theatre the stalls
would manage to get around him, one
ahead, and one behind. l would walk
by his side and l knew just what pocket
his purse was in for l noticed that when
ho felt for it at the bar. Then when he
got into the jam the stalls would COM
mencc the crush, that is, squeeze him
between them. The man ahead would
accidentally push him back, while tho
one behind would crush him ahead.
As soon as he felt tho crush he would
get nervous and excited, raise his hands
up to make his way through the crowd
and wrigglc from one side to the other.
The stalls would only squeeze him
harder and then would slip my hand
into his pocket and get the purse. A
cough would be a signal to tho stalls
that l was through, and then they
would stop squeezing him.
"As soon as we released him from the
crush it was funny to sec how he would
wiSglc to get out of the crowd, and when
he got there he found that his purse was
gone. OF course, you can work that way
in any crowd, but you must always take
a nervous man. Take ono of these cool
| fellows who doesn't think of getting
robbed, and who doesn't mind the crush.
and 30 times out Of 100 he will catch
| You"
But how is il that you manage To rob
ladies, when oftcn;imcs their pockets are
covered by their skirts 2" ask ed the re.
porter.
"Just the same as a man. answ cred
| tho prisoner. "Thc stalls give them
the crush, and the one b hind cuts the
dress at the same time. Why, it is ten
times easier to rob woman than n man,
for they arc all fdgcty. When they get
into crowd. and arc jammcd, all they
think of is their dress. They are afraid
that it is going to be torn and dragged
out of shape, and they get so angry and
excited that you could put your handinto
the pocket so times without being de-
tectcd